This three-paper dissertation uses social network analysis to examine the literacy development and small group discourse of multilingual students in Grades 4 and 5. The data come from a randomized-controlled trial testing the effectiveness of homogeneous and heterogeneous small groups for English learners. The first paper tests whether two types…

My research topic is the diagnosis of learning disabilities (LD) in elementary school children. The poorly defined criteria and methods of LD determinations leads to a large number of students labeled with the disability category of LD (Graves et al, 2011; Hutchison, 2021), even though the process is inconsistent and subjective (Graves et al,…

This mixed methods study explored how elementary teachers reported using a commercially published instructional unit to plan and deliver science instruction in their elementary classrooms. Of particular focus is what elements of the program teachers eliminated during planning and instruction, what outside materials teachers added to instruction,…

While America is becoming increasingly diverse, educational stakeholders seek programs that address varied language and cultural needs, which is reflected by the growing popularity of dual language immersion (DLI) programs in recent decades. The problem is an extensively persistent academic achievement gap between students with native English and…

Many studies have been done on the short-term academic impacts of early-childhood education programs. The purpose of this study was to add to the educational literature on long-term impacts of early-childhood education programs by analyzing the long-term academic impacts that such programs had on students by the end of third grade. The variable of…

Many students at the Valley View Primary School (pseudonym) in the Caribbean are not performing according to numeracy and literacy standards on national tests. Administration and teachers wanted to know why changes to formative assessment practices are not increasing students' achievement levels. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case…

This dissertation investigates how principals' and teachers' perceptions of a family's socioeconomic status can potentially impact and influence the reading achievement of elementary students in Title I school settings. While recognizing the critical role socioeconomic factors play in educational outcomes, this study examined educational…

The present study hypothesized that specific demographic variables (e.g., experience, education, attendance of workshops/trainings) would influence elementary general education teachers' knowledge on suicidal risk factors, interventions, and application of knowledge. 165 participants (121 females, 44 males) recruited from a suburban school…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to describe the strategies teachers chose to successfully differentiate for high achieving upper elementary mathematics students. The context of the study was mixed ability classes in international schools. The study used Vygotsky's sociocultural learning theory as a theoretical framework to…

Regular student attendance is one of the most important factors in determining a student's academic success. In this qualitative action research study, the researcher sought to identify the reasons behind an increase in chronic absenteeism at Mid-Atlantic Elementary School. Additionally, the question of what impact teacher self-efficacy had on…

Early literacy intervention is critical to students who are struggling to progress in reading. One intervention aimed at supporting students in the first-grade is Reading Recovery (RR). The purpose of this study was to explore the sustainability of gains achieved by first-grade students, on the STAR reading assessment, who exited the Reading…

In this dissertation, I present the findings from the implementation of an informational text reading comprehension intervention. Using a single-case multiple baselines across participants' experimental design, I examined results from three small heterogeneous groups of three to four students during the literacy block in a suburban fourth-grade…

The purpose of this quantitative correlational-predictive study was to determine if and to what extent teachers' Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) individually and combined predict teachers' Class Reading Growth in grades K-5 at a school district in a southeastern coastal state. The theoretical foundations…

The pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study examined the effects of small group instruction in number sense on intermediate elementary students. When a student does not have number sense as a strong foundation, it can cause detrimental deficits as the students' mathematical knowledge increases. The gap will continue to grow if effective…

The subject of this study is to investigate if, and to what extent the performance of third-grade students' multiplication fact proficiency differs in a hybrid learning setting as compared to in-person instruction. These differences were questioned by researching if there was a change in student proficiency due to the instructional modality, if…